New racial harmony Bill gives Govt powers on restraining orders, community remedial action

A new Bill that seeks to consolidate and strengthen the Government's powers to maintain racial harmony in Singapore was introduced in Parliament on Jan 7.

- Wong Pei Ting

The Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill would allow the home affairs minister to issue restraining orders and introduce a community-based approach to dealing with racial incidents. The proposed legislation also includes safeguards against foreign influence.

Under the Bill, clan and business associations linked to the Chinese, Malay and Indian races would be designated "race-based entities" and subject to measures to curb foreign influence, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

If passed, the Bill would result in the designation of more than 300 such entities in Singapore, according to MHA's preliminary estimation.

Race-based entities would have to disclose their foreign affiliations, foreign donations and anonymous donations, as well as leadership composition. These organisations would also have to ensure that more than half of the members of their governing body are Singapore citizens, and that their responsible officers are either citizens or permanent residents.

The racial harmony Bill has been in the works for more than three years - then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced it in his 2021 National Day Rally speech.

He said then that legislation would be introduced to consolidate the Government's existing powers to deal with racial issues, signal that racial harmony and religious harmony are equally important, and strengthen the country's ability to deal with threats to racial harmony.

MHA said the new Bill takes close reference from existing legislation such as the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA).

Similar to the MRHA, it would enable the home affairs minister to issue restraining orders against those involved in communicating, producing or distributing content prejudicial to racial harmony in Singapore.